Introducing Forest Friends

Candice Aguilar has become well-known and recognizable for her clean, whimsical style. When brainstorming ideas & themes to base a new set on, I instantly knew that the woodland creature trend that is so prominent now, would be a perfect fit. When I saw her first draft, it was obvious that it was match made in heaven! Her new set, entitled Forest Friends, is just the CUTEST collection of critters I have ever seen! It was all I could do not to reveal the set in it’s entirety tonight so you could see the entire "family"
she drew! I’ve learned to pace myself over the last two year’s of doing these countdowns though, so today’s project will showcase just the sweet little skunk!

If you look closely at the skunk, you will see how a few simple, well-thought out lines create this little guy. I love the soft curve of the stripes down his back and that cute little button of a nose! And notice the font combination that Candice chose for the sentiments? LOVE it! The retro font used in a lot of the emphasis words contained in this set is just fabulous! So fresh and funky! Almost creating a style all it’s own!………………………………………………………………………………………………
Speaking of the sentiment, this particular one (Stop and smell the flowers) got me to thinking about a technique I dabbled in about four years ago! Creating my own scratch & sniff components! It’s an oldie; perhaps you remember doing it too! And after thinking about it a bit more, we as paper crafters have really brought our projects up a notch in the past few years by incorporating the element of touch with textures, etc… Why not start thinking about some fun ways you can embellish your themed projects with scents? With my card in particular, I thought of a few different scenarios.………………………………………………………………………………………………

Create your own scratch & sniff embossing powder. I have always mixed Kool-Aid packets (no sugar added, just the flavoring) with clear embossing powder. You want about 1 part Kool-Aid to two-parts embossing powder. You can make just what you need for a project, or make a larger batch and store it in a labeled container. With an expansive selection of "flavors" available, you can create something to suit almost any project! Pink Lemonade is one of my personal favorites since it doesn’t have a lot of color to it and blends in quite nicely with the embossing powder. You use this homemade scratch & sniff concoction just as you would normal embossing powder!

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I just discovered these Potpourri Pellets at Wal-Mart last week. One packet costs about a $1 and contains hundreds of these little transparent dots that almost look like droplets of glass. They average from 1/8 to 3/16-inch in diameter, making them the perfect center for a flower or adhered in a row for a border. You could pretty much use them any place you might normally use a rhinestone or self-adhesive pearl. They are permanently saturated with their assigned scent, so the recipient would be welcomed with the sweet smell as soon as they opened the envelope!

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One additional option is to use a tiny drop or two of a fragrance oil on your flowers, which is what I did on my project today. I found some in the potpourri section of the store. You could also use essential oils that are used in making cosmetics and other beauty products. Remember, a little goes a long way!

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So, have you added scents to your paper crafting projects in the past? Does today’s post inspire any ideas for you and your creativity today? Think about mixing pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon in with your embossing powders for a special home baked smell on a project that features gingerbread men or other holiday baking theme. What’s your mother’s favorite flower? Wouldn’t she be thrilled to have a special birthday card that features an image of that bloom PAIRED with the smell she loves so much. It would be like having a fresh bouquet arriving in an envelope!

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Oh, and I almost forgot! What do you think of the patterned papers used on today’s project? They are all from the new December patterned paper collection, Raspberry Fizz Mix (don’t forget that you can click on the image for a larger view!). I am SO in love with this collection! I am going to have a lot of trouble not using it on every single project I create this week! Just to help fend off some questions now, there is not a stamp set being released this month that coordinates with this paper. Notice I said THIS month! A few of the elements that I designed for these patterns made their way into a set that will be released in January, so you’ll just have to wait and see what will be! Regardless, the vibrancy of the color, paired with the bold patterns jsut really make the collection fun to use. You will gt fabulous results no matter what you pair this paper with! It practically does the work for you!

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So now that I have introduced a few new things from our December release to you, how would you feel about having a chance to win them? One random comment from this post will be selected to receive

Forest Friends

Forest Friends Sentiments

AND Raspberry Fizz Mix 8×8 paper pad

(this is a $47 value!)

The Fine Print: One comment will be chosen randomly as the winner. The winner will be announced around 11:30pm EST, Wednesday, December 10th right here at the end of this post. Please play nice, only one comment per person.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

For the first time in the history of utilizing the Random Number Generator, it rolled out a single digit!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2008-12-11 06:17:04 UTC

And comment # 6 belongs to…

"The
little skunk is so saucy looking and I love the new papers. This little
skunk should definitely be called "Flower". Can’t wait to see more! "

Congratulations, Ann! Please contact Customer Service with your shipping address so we can get your prize package out to you! And thanks to everyone else for playing! All of your excitement is contagious!

I have to say that is the most CHARMING little skunk I have ever seen. And I am more that a little excited about the new bright pink. I go through sweet blush more than any other color. And my 7-year old niece is really getting in to card making so she will also love the pink!

Nicole, as usual I love everything you make! The pattern paper and color is beautiful. Thanks for telling us that a stamp set is coming in Jan., as soon as I saw that pattern paper I thought that I wanted a stamp set with those designs. So, since I know that it’s coming in Jan., I can start saving some money and that set will be mine 😉
Looking forward to seeing Candice’s set, she’s one of my favourite designers, I have all her stamp sets!

The skunk is very cute, and I’m eager to see the rest of his friends, but I have to say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pink patterned paper! Please, oh please, oh please, let that large flower in it be in the stamp set you release in Jan!

Cute project. Cute little skunk. Can’t
wait to see the rest of the set. I’m betting that there’s a porcupine in there
somewhere! Love the new Raspberry Fizz,
too. I tried guessing what you’d call it
as I looked at your project.

Loving this set so far, cannot wait to see the rest of it. I love the bright and bold colors of the paper, reminds me of the tropics. I just love the 10th of every month, because I am so excited to see what you and your DT will come up with.

OMG….Nichole you and your team are simply…A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
It’s that time again and I get all excited..every month the same thing…never miss a beat…can’t wait to see what’s new….yahoo!
Bring it on!!LOL
Adoree

The newest color you’ve come up with is a MUST HAVE!! This is definitely going in my cart when it’s released! And I can’t wait to see the rest of Candice’s and Lisa’s creations! Wow – move over Christmas stamps, here comes Valentine’s!

Oh my! This is going to be another expensive month for my credit card! I already love the new Forest Friends set! We live in a very rural area and get to see these wonderful creatures often, so there isn’t a more appropriate stamp set for my children and I to stamp with! I also have been waiting for a true raspberry color! I can’t wait to see what you post using this color and the great new patterned paper that matches! Day one of the countdown and I am already impressed! Thanks Nichole!!!

Hooray – it is FINALLY the 10th again (the only thing better than the 10th is the 15th, LOL!) I love this little skunk – I already envision using him in cards to my hubby the next time he deploys “Being apart from you stinks!” Thanks for the chance to win him Nichole!

That skink is adorable and the raspberry fizz paper – completely aweseome. I love how you paired the two together. I can’t wait to see the other sneak peaks through out the week. Thanks for the opportunity to win such a great prize.

Here I am up at 4:15 a.m. to see what Nichole has to show us today. I am only the 100th or so to comment. Wow, you guys are truly early birds. I am loving the idea of Forest Friends and sentiments. The paper? Wow!!!

I have anxiously been awaitng today….the 10th….yippee!!! You make this so much fun for all of us, and I have never been disappointed. I just love the Rasberry Fizz, Looks like the perfect Valentine paper! Can’t wait to see the entire set of Forest Friends, and of course…the Sentiments! Thanks for the inspiration!

FUN! its so good to see fresh funky stuff coming up for the new year. Im personally sick of anything “christmas” related right now. Cant wait to see the other animals in the set they look adorable!! Also The pink of that paper makes quite a pop dosnt it lol.

Man, I love everything I’ve seen so far! The new designer paper (got to have it!), the skunk (got to have it!), the new color (got to have it!) This is going to be another great release … outstanding job, ladies!

I looked through the supply list and didn’t see your bag listed – you know, the one you keep your tricks in because I clearly need an upgraded one of my own. That skunk is adorable, the font is delightful, and that color is dreamy. I was already excited about the sneak peeks, and now it looks like Christmas might come a little early for me this year. Thanks.

What a cute set! Can’t wait to see the rest of the animals! And I love the new raspberry color! I’m imagining paper and ribbons in this color, too (*wink* – fingers crossed!). I just don’t how you do it – You and the Papertrey Ink team just continue to WOW me!

Nicole your card is so adorable! Great set Candice – I love the funky font in the sentiments – and those animals are perfect! Oooh, a raspberry color – that looks so delish! I can tell this is going to be one rockin’ release 🙂

I can’t wait to see the entire set. I am trying so hard to ‘think outside the box’ with my stamping by using new stamps (not just flowers etc) and new ideas. You are answering all my needs so far. Thanks also for the ‘adding fragrances’ ideas. I can’t wait to get to Walmart!!!

The little skunk is so cute! I can’t wait to see the rest of his friends. Thanks for the reminder about adding scent to my cards. I haven’t utilized that technique in a several years. Love, Love, Love the pink paper!

Looking forward to seeing the rest of this cute stamp set. Also, you have such innovative ideas on how to make scented cards! Love the new paper. You now have me looking forward to the January release of the new set too! Thanks for the chance to win!

The skunk is so cute! I can’t wait to see all the other forest friends. Hmmm — what will they be? I also love the raspberry paper. I skipped ordering anything last month, but I think I’ll more than make up for it this month!

Great color combination–love that color (especially nice here since we’ve had so much snow and dreary weather lately!). That skunk is adorable! I wonder if I can convince DH to wait until the 15th to place a Christmas gift order. . .

Isn’t a skunk one of those things you have to have in your collection? He’s darling! I love the font on the saying also. But my favorite is the pink paper. I love the patterned paper. Too cute. I always find such inspiration here. Thanks!

See, what I love is that you go all the way with your projects and posts to be super helpful to us. You didn’t just pick ONE way to add scent to your card…you gave us 3-4 different ways in one blog post. That’s what sets you apart, IMO, in the blogging world!

OHHHHH WOW!!!! The raspberry color is just gorgeous. I love it! And the skunk….too cute. I really need this set! I have problems with skunks coming to my back door at night to nose around in the cat food bowl. Would love to win tonight.

Oh, Nichole! I thought I only needed the other sets, but now I see that I am going to “need” them all! Your card is fantastic and I love all your adding scent ideas! Thanks for sharing them!!!! The papers are wonderful too, but I can see that I will be needing some ribbon to go with them! 😉

As always PTI releases are so exciting! I really like the hot pink patterned paper, can’t wait to mix it up with chocolate brown in my projects. I have never done any scratch n’ sniff project, that is a great idea, can’t wait to try it!

I ADORE the card you made using the skunk, Forest Friends sentiment and the Raspberry Fizz Mix paper is delightful. And that also means Raspberry Fizz is a Perfect Match color with all the wonders that go with it like cardstock, ink, ribbons, oh my!! Thank you for the chance to win.

OMGoodness, I so love the new dp pack for December bold patters and bold color my FAVE mix! I have tried the kool aid with clear embossing power used it with the Pumpkin from PTI’s Spooky Sweets set on Thanksgiving cards last year. The little potporri dots is a great idea thanks for the tip.

The retro font really tweaked my interest- I can hardly wait to see the other sentiments. And the skunk reminds me of an old novelty toilet seat that my aunt had (way back when). So cool. Thanks for this, Nichole.

Nicole! You think of everything!!! I was thinking of a cool way to “dress up” some fun cards for my young neices to use as Thank you cards… .this scratch and sniff idea is the bomb! Thank you so much!!

I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw the sneak peak with the skunk. Seeing today’s project though has intrigued me to see what else is part of this set. The paper is very vibrant! A nice hue to make you start thinking about Valentines.

That is such a “stinkin cute card” :O) How do you gals come up with these ideas!?!? The paper is gorgeous, the sentiment is so practical. Especially during the holidays… you know what I mean!!! Thanks again for sharing such creations with us.

Ca-YUTE!! Love that vibrant new pink, and am drooling at the idea that we’re maybe going to get some PTI black – soon, right? Loved your ideas on how to scent your cards – all great, as usual! Can’t wait for more peeks!!

Such a cute little skunk. Oh & I love the raspberry fizz paper… fabulous! Cant wait to see the coordinating stamps next month. TFS the tidbit on the kool aid & the potpurri pellets, I have yet to add scents to my project & cant wait to try it out!

I love it! The bright colours and the little critters are perfect for all year around, but looking forward to spring I have a thousand ideas for them already.
I can’t wait to see the other critters.
Absolutely adorable.

Love that cute little skunk! And the new patterned paper is yummy too. I particularly like one of the flower images on the paper that is circular with layers in the shape (surrounded by leaves). I’m hoping that’s one of the flowers in the January set! Thanks for more ideas about adding fragrance. Appreciate the chance to win!

You have me intrigued about next month’s sets! Do I see button flowers, or mums in our future? Or even those swirley, scribble-type flowers that you have on the transparent overlay in the scents you show us? I would love any of those!

In any case, love the new paper collection and ribbon! It would all work great for Valentine’s Day! Mr. Skunk is adorable, or should I say too stinkin’ cute! LOL
Jan

Thank The lord my husband gets his bonus this month. I can tell already I will be going over my scrap budget this month. I have gone over my budget for three months since I discovered Papertrey! HA! LOVE IT!!!

It is not even 12 noon and there are already over 400 posts. SHEESH! You are getting more popular every month. Congrats! You are by far my favorite stamp company.

This skunk is so cute!! Can’t wait to see what other critters are in this set. I love this paper. I think I would go to it over and over. I have not used scents in my cards yet, but will soon. My doughter gave me a card one time with a scent and it was wonderful.

I love the new Raspberry Fizz paper! And I can’t wait to see all of the critters in Canidce’s new set! And thanks for bringing back the Kool-aid with the embossing powder technique! I’ll have to make some cards with that technique this week!

The new set of paper is absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to create some new cards with it. I’m also looking forward to seeing the stamp sets being released this month. I am feeling so very lucky b/c this year my two best friends asked what I wanted for my birthday (it’s next week) and I told them Papertrey gift certificates. Yipee!!!!

I love the name raspberry fizz and I think that skunk is so cute! Normally I don’t like skunks but the PTI skunk is a must have, plus I can make him smell good thanks to the scratch and sniff tutorial! LOL

I can hardly wait to see the rest of the set. I remember when scratch and sniff pens were all the rage. My kid were going through my stuff a couple of weeks ago and found some. They think I have the coolest collection around.

Love the new paper – so bright & cheery. I don’t think I can help much with scratch & sniff suggestions as I have no sense of smell!! The skunk is real cute – looking forward to seeing the rest of the set.

Oh Nichole raspberry fizz looks so like a color I will love to use…
I can’t wait to see the entire set of critters that Candice created. I think that December 15 will be a very merry Christmas for me. Thank you for the chance to win these items.

How fun! I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of a forest animal that gets stuck. I love that Raspberry Fizz color and the one paper with the writing on it – makes me smile! thanks for the chance to win!

Oh, and I love scenting my cards – I use Card Scents which are made for our cards!! Very fun – you can see them here: http://www.card-scents.com

The skunk is adorable. When I saw it, I was reminded of the skunk that caught itself in an open cage at my niece’s home in Tucson. Her children made a video of him doing his “flower” dance in the cage (while keeping their distance, of course) before they let him go on the edge of their property. Their report is that this little guy’s fragrance is not one we would like to send in our cards. I look forward to the reveal on the 15th to see more of Candice’s stamp set as well as the other PTI wonders. By the way, I love your idea of sending scents with all the textures. There must be a raspberry KoolAid that would work with the Raspberry Fizz paper collection. I hope that there will be Raspberry ribbon, solid card stock, and ink released on the 15th also. Thank you for the opportunity to win the collection.

I just sneaked a peek before a big stampin event tonight. I couldn’t resist as I had to get my PTI fix. Once again, you and your team prove to be trendsetters. I love the retro feel of the stamp set. The paper is so IKEA!!!

Super cute! You really have me anxious to see the other critters in the set – I LOVE the cute skunk, and can hardly wait to see all of his friends! Plus, the sentiment set must have some really cute sayings, I am sure of it! Thanks for a chance to win.

Beautiful card! I love Candice’s style and think this set will end up being one of my must-haves this month! Your ideas for the scented cards is such a cool idea. Thanks for all the wonderful inspiration and fantastic products! 🙂

What a cute skunk and he just pops off that raspberry fizz paper! I can’t wait to try the scratch and sniff idea – how fun. As always after reading your blog my mind is full of craft creation I want to work on.

LOVE LOVE LOVE that paper!! It is gorgeous. I have always been a sucker for any shade of pink. That skunk is so cute. My grandmothers dog just had a run in with one the other day! It would be perfect to send to her. 🙂

Why did you have to do such great stuff at Christmas? You know we will HAVE to have it!! Love the new style and I have to say, my sets from this site are by far – my most used! Thanks so much for your sharing great stamp sets along with great inspirations. Hape your Christmas is joyful!

I guess I will have to change my opinion about skunks now. I never really liked them–my doggie got skunked two times too many. But this skunk is a sweet smelling critter. Love the scenting ideas. Thank you so much.
Cheryl Sims

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